Spend a Couple Hours »Britney Spears Circus Tour

We're going to see Britney! We're going to see Britney! We're going to see Britney! We're going to see Britney! We're going to see Britney! We're going to see Britney! We're going to see Britney! We're going to see Britney! We're going to see Britney! We're going to see Britney! We're going to see Britney! We're going to see Britney!?I hope she does something a little crazy. I hope she plays all my favorite songs from Blackout. I hope Jim still loves me when it's over.

I also hope the Pussycat Dolls don't go over long.

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Posted on August 24, 2009

Songs »If You Were Here

sixteen candles if you were hereSigh. There are few songs that can evoke such deep and romantic emotions as If You Were Here by the Thompson Twins. Of course the impact of the song comes from it's inclusion in the iconic, most sigh inducing scene probably ever put to screen for girls that love to kiss cute boys. My little girl dreams were never the same after it.

Make a wish? It already came true. Thanks John Hughes!

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Posted on August 17, 2009

Songs »For Your Eyes Only

For Your Eyes Only, a song on the strange four track release Cherry Bomb: Cherie Currie of the Runaways, sounds a like leather clad, big haired, lady-rock B-side from 1989 though interestingly enough, it was released only a couple of years ago – but I can't find any information on whether the recording itself is new or only just released… But I'd like to think it's a new recording and that Currie just felt compelled to do a brief 2007 recording session between giant chainsaw sculptures (her current passion).

Even though this is pretty an obscure track, it is available on iTunes.

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Posted on August 10, 2009

Songs »Make it Easy on Yourself

The dramatic, sweeping Make It Easy On Yourself could only be the child of Burt Bacharach, the Walker Brothers and a full orchestra under the inspiration of Phil Spector.

Exclaiming that breaking up is so very hard to do, Scott and pals made it to number one in the UK with this one and a none to shabby #16 in the US. The Brothers (who are not really brothers), who hail from LA always got more love and attention from the Brits.

Here's an adorable polite and lovable Gary Walker explaining the song choice “we thought it would be good all around” and a performance from 1965.

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Posted on August 3, 2009

Albums »Hurricane

grace jones hurricaneHurricane, Grace Jones’ tenth album that sparked her recent (freaking amazing) tour is a strange one. Not only in the music too. I mean, how many times have you been to a concert of an oldie and found yourself actually moved and excited by their new material? More over, how often does a former disco star’s comeback result in anything interesting? But most strangely, why is this album not released in the US?

I am working on getting a copy, hoping really that it will come to itunes soon, but in the meantime, there are several videos online. Her single, Corporate Cannibal has a visually simple but enthralling morph effect. Her other single, William’s Blood, which she dedicated to Michael Jackson at Hammerstein, does not have an official video, but you can see a video of live performances here. I also loved the bold, rhythmic song she opened with, dressed as a silver alien ghost, This is Life.

Jones told the audience that music had broken her heart. She had cried and screamed over it and walked out on it like a good Diva should. Thankfully producer Ivor Guest convinced her to get back in the game after she took him to bed, and the result is an impressive musical accomplishment.

Now if someone could just give it some distribution!

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Posted on August 3, 2009

Albums »A Divina Com?dia ou Ando Meio Desligado

The mouthful of an album A Divina Com?dia ou Ando Meio Desligado by the awesome Os Mutantes is a departure from their Tropicalia roots. Instead finding inspiration from everywhere from doo wop, brass and marching bands, psychedelia, gospel, and the blues – the band seems have left the shores of Rio far behind – but don't worry that they've lost their whimsy. Each genre they tackle is infused with their amazing whacked out sensibility.

The Bauhaus appropriate cover art featuring an engraving from Gustav Dore's divine Comedy?is not indicative of the fun the band is still having nor the fun it is to listen and re-listen to this album over and over. Especially if you're in a trippy mood.

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Posted on July 27, 2009

Songs »Somebody Loves You

crystal gale somebody loves youThe genre my friend labeled as “pharmacy rock” (the middle of the road radio music that pumps through rite aids the world over) rarely has me exclaiming “I love this song!” But Crystal Gayle's heartfelt romantic rendition of Somebody Loves You is a beautiful exception. It's the kind of song you imagine really good Midwestern or southern girls putting on their plastic pink record players in frothy bedrooms as they wait for their boys to get back to town.

The song was rerecorded by the queen of rasp, Marianne Faithfull in the Brix Picks album Dreamin My Dreams years later.

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Posted on July 27, 2009

Albums »Vintage Violence

vintage violenceListening to John Cale's sophisticated folk pop album, Vintage Violence, is as pleasant as looking at his handsome face. His first solo album after an unamiable split with the Velvet Underground sounds startlingly modern. The soft pleading beauty of Amsterdam, the slow dancey Please, and the far away Charlamagne (that hints at the work to come in his amazing Paris 1919, the album which led me to love the man in the first place) are examples of simple American sounding timelessness, while the bubbly Cleo and Hello There draw from retro pop history.

Cale is such a distinct voice in modern music, one that I'm enjoying discovering with each album. In an interesting side note, this particular album was recorded during his brief marriage to cart-wheeling maniac Betsey Johnson. She's pictured in the album looking more toned down than her shirtless hubby, but no word on whether or not any of the arty lyrics refer to or were inspired by her.

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Posted on July 13, 2009

Songs »Take Me Home

phil collins take me homeI'm calling it now: the Phil Collins revival, which has already begun, is about to come full swing. I even saw a friend's band, The XYZ Affair perform a rousing rendition of Take Me Home not too long ago. Among an impressive catalogue of hits, it's an exceptional one… though it's also only fair to mention Easy Lover as well.

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Posted on May 11, 2009

Songs »Big Yellow Taxi

big yellowtaxi joni mitchellJoni Mitchell, universally lauded for her impact and song-writing, is kind of an acquired taste. Thanks to extremely poignant and relevant environmental lyrics and the beautiful refrain, “Don't it always seem to go, you don't know what you got till it's gone” (which was oddly sampled by Janet without any regard to the original meaning), Big Yellow Taxi is one of Mitchell's most popular and accessible songs.

Even reluctant listeners, like my friend Mike you used to torment the little hippy girls in high school by singing, “I wanna shampoo your haaaaaiiir” in a mocking falsetto would have to admit that this song has a lasting and pretty ring to it.

Written during a trip to Hawaii when Joni, “…took a taxi to the hotel and when I woke up the next morning, I threw back the curtains and saw these beautiful green mountains in the distance. Then, I looked down and there was a parking lot as far as the eye could see, and it broke my heart… this blight on paradise.”

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Posted on April 20, 2009